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OAKMONT, Pa. — Doris Yates, a 64-year-old retired hair stylist, arrived with her husband at the 3rd hole at Oakmont Country Club just after 9 a.m. Saturday. She was waiting for Tiger Woods. About five hours later, when Woods appeared, with two tidy pars under his belt, Yates stood hole high to the right of the green, perfectly stationed to watch Woods roll in his first birdie of the day.
Then the Mob showed up, and Yates missed the putt.
"You wait and you wait," she said, shaking her head. "And then this."
Where Tiger Woods goes, so goes the Mob: a swelling herd of reporters, photographers, commentators, cameramen, sound guys, spotters, tournament officials, handlers and hangers-on. They follow Tiger's every step like Vatican bodyguards trailing the Pope. The inevitable result, along every tee box, fairway and green, is a slew of disappointed and often disgruntled spectators who in some cases have waited hours for a front-row glimpse of Woods only to get a close-up of sweaty-backed writers and camera lenses the size of bazookas.
And some fans aren't shy about voicing their disapproval.
"Hey, white shirt, sidooooown!" one spectator yelled at a USGA official impeding the view of Woods's birdie putt at the par-3 8th.
"Nice seats, Brian," another fan said to his friend after their sightline was blocked by a troupe of photographers at the 5th.
"Hey, XM!" a fan snarled at the XM Radio reporter who was standing greenside at the 9th as Woods stalked yet another birdie putt. The reporter turned around, glared at the fan, and grudgingly took a knee.
And so it went today at Oakmont, and always goes when Woods, or Phil Mickelson for that matter, is near. It's a situation unique to golf: Spend $78 on a field-level ticket to Yankee Stadium, and you're guaranteed nine innings of unobstructed A-Rod. Drop $99 for admission to the Daytona 500, and you'll get unimpeded, if distant, views of Jimmie Johnson's stockcar. But spend $375 for a four-day grounds pass to the U.S. Open, and there's no telling what you'll see.
Or won't see, particularly if you've come to watch Woods.
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